George Osborne’s right hand man calls for new party of ‘sensible MPs’

James Chapman said that many ‘interesting people’ were up for forming the Democrats.

The pressure on centrist, anti-Brexit MPs to form a new party has been ratcheted up by a former adviser to George Osborne.

James Chapman, who also recently worked as chief of staff to Brexit secretary David Davis, said that leaving the European Union was a disaster and that radical action was needed to halt the process.

"Past time for sensible MPs in all parties to admit Brexit is a catastrophe, come together In new party if need be, and reverse it," he wrote on Twitter last night.

Chapman said that Labour's Chuka Umunna, Stella Creasy, Rachel Reeves, Pat McFadden and Tory MPs Anna Soubry, Nicky Morgan, Nicholas Soames would all be a good fit for the new party, along with new Lib Dem leader Vince Cable.

It comes after TP reported that Labour donors recently gave £45,000 to Umunna, who many Labour moderates see as the top contender to lead the new party.

Meanwhile Tony Blair is said to be actively looking for donors to fund the new centrist party.

Chapman was political editor of the Daily Mail from 2009 to 2015, before leaving to become chief of staff to Osborne in the Treasury . He went on to become chief of staff to the Brexit secretary but now appears to regret working for Davis, with his Twitter profile stating "let's gloss over that".

He is now a partner with lobbying firm Bell Pottinger and an increasingly forthright commentator, who recently said that Andrea Leadsom was the "dimmest bulb" in Theresa May’s Cabinet.

Among those publicly endorsing Chapman’s calls was Cable, who said: "I agree with David Davis' ex chief of staff. The public should have a chance to exit from Brexit."

Chapman claimed this morning that he already had seen plenty more support from various quarters. "Lots of messages from VERY interesting people wanting to be involved in new party, the Democrats," he said.